It focuses in particular on the role that the national ideal of democracy has played in India's evolution.

The book is also noted for its treatment of the personality and actions of Jawaharlal Nehru in the development of the country.

[1][2] Journalist Ian Jack described this book, and its description of the "intellectual foundations" of the modern Indian state, as "indispensable" reading.

[3] Abraham Verghese in The New York Times writes, "[the book] argues that politics, more than culture or religious chauvinism, shaped modern India.

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